For years, people have debated who’s the greatest player in NBA history. Unsurprisingly, names like LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Michael Jordan have often surfaced in that discussion.
Wilt was arguably the first superstar in the game, one that was so dominant that he literally forced the league to enforce several rule changes. As for Jordan, he later took over as the most impactful player of his era, and arguably all time.
However, as good as Jordan was, it seems like Chamberlain wasn’t all that impressed by the Chicago Bulls star, going as far as to say that he would’ve gotten ‘crushed’ in his era.
Wilt Chamberlain Didn’t Think Michael Jordan Could Thrive In His Era
“Michael Jordan is one of those rare specimens that could have played in any particular time and is a gifted athlete and is using those gifts in basketball incredibly so,” Chamberlain told Conan O’Brien. “Well, his playing style is that he’s 6’7” and he’s like 197 pounds. Coming into what we called, ‘our domain,’ the pivot for us big guys, would not have been very wise for Michael if he was playing during our time.”
“So we would say you know, ‘Michael, as long as you’re doing those fancy things outside of where we are, that’s fine.’ So it wouldn’t have been good for Michael,” Chamberlain continued, “I don’t think. I know he would have been crushed.”
Ironically, that’s pretty much the same thing people say about LeBron James and the 80s and 90s. Truth be told, we’ll never know for sure, and that’s why there’s no point in comparing different eras.
